Welcome To The 'Jing: ISB Head of School Daniel K Rubenstein

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jingkids welcomes new expatriate families who have made the brave decision to travel from overseas to the capital city for an fresh adventure. Welcome to the friendly Beijing community, we can't wait to see you around the neighborhood!

Daniel K. Rubenstein joins the International School of Beijing (ISB) community after leading Prospect Schools in New York City, a network of schools he founded in 2007. Daniel has been a math teacher and leader at Collegiate School (New York), Sidwell Friends (Washington, D.C.), SEED Public Charter School (Washington, D.C.), and School Year Abroad Beijing. A winner of the 2002 Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics Teaching, his work has been covered in media including Nightline, PBS, Education Next, and USA Today. Daniel joined ISB as Head of School in 2021. His wife, Melanie Fischer, an artist, came to Beijing from Brooklyn, New York, with the couple's two children, Celia (17) and Morton (14).

Welcome to the 'Jing! What made you decide to come to Beijing and join International School of Beijing (ISB)?

I’ve known about ISB for years. My closest friend works in international affairs in Washington, D.C. and his wife is an ISB graduate also working in international affairs. They really sold us on the amazing opportunities at ISB from the academic program to the incredible co-curricular and extra-curricular offerings. As a family, Melanie and I wanted a world class international education for our children in a city with rich Chinese culture, language, and history. Our daughter is a senior this year, so it was now or never. There is no better place than ISB!

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What might your personal motto be when it comes to shaping future generations?

A critical component of education for young learners all the way to Grade 12 is finding your passion. That means having lots of opportunities to try a wide range of academic and non-academic activities to really find out what you love and where you can excel. Finding your voice on the pitch, gym, stage, or studio is what I see as critical to building character and personal development.

What are you most looking forward to doing here in Beijing?

For our family, we love getting to know the history and culture of Beijing, but most importantly doing that through getting to meet and form close friendships with long-time Beijingers. The people you meet here in Beijing are what makes the experience really worth it.

What are your family's first impressions of Beijing?

We love the city so far. Beijing is one of the few major world cities where you can learn a top five world language, be surrounded by ancient history and culture, and have a high standard of living and safety. It is one of the better places in the world to raise kids.

What are your favorite things about Beijing so far?

We love having locals show us some of the off the beaten track portions of Beijing. We’ve been to an amazing acrobatics school, seen some hidden gems in the hutongs and went to an equestrian show. Since Melanie is an artist, we’ve been getting more involved in the local art scene. We recently saw the unbelievable show at UCCA, “Somewhere Downtown,” art from 1980s New York.

What are you reading these days?

I just finished "Braised Pork" by An Yu (ISB alumni, Class of 2011).

Know a new family fresh off the boat? Tell us if they would like to be featured in jingkids as our way of welcoming them to our community!

Images: Courtesy of ISB

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